Vomar Voordeelmarkt is a family business with 64 supermarkets located mainly in the north-west of the Netherlands. Every week, more than 750,000 customers do their daily shopping at one of Vomar Voordeelmarkt’s stores. The retailer wanted to gain greater control over stock located at their central warehouse in order to better replenish the various branches.

The number of missed deliveries has already fallen by 50% meaning Vomar Voordeelmarkt can provide better service to customers. “Slim4 also allows us to anticipate and prepare for assortment changes,” says Deputy Director of Logistics, Manufacturing & e-Commerce, Martin Kors.

The business, therefore, took the decision to implement Slimstock’s inventory management software, Slim4. “The ever expanding range of fresh products held at the distribution centre in Alkmaar reinforced the need for a reliable inventory optimisation solution”, says Martin Kors. “With Slim4, we can accurately forecast the sales of items on a daily basis.”

The software has now been in place for more than a year and has brought a number of distinct advantages. The food retailer has been able to reduce its overall inventory by 10% whilst still improving the service level. This is true for dry goods but also for fresh produce. With Slim4, Vomar Voordeelmarkt can forecast demand with far greater accuracy. This, in turn, has enabled the business to maintain greater control over the supply chain. By supplying the supermarkets from the distribution centre, the number of missed deliveries has been halved, resulting in fresher products and more satisfied customers.

In the past year, Vomar Voordeelmarkt has put in motion a large-scale transition in which all branches are transferred to a new format complete with a new assortment. This conversion of the Vomar branches has yielded very positive results. According to Kors, Slim4 has made a valuable contribution to this process. “With Slim4, we can anticipate various scenarios relating to assortment changes. The software makes the sales patterns much more understandable. As a result, we can make the required switches more quickly.”

By introducing Slim4 and undertaking the associated training, the purchasing process at Vomar Voordeelmarkt is now far more efficient. “Our ordering team have been trained by Slimstock and are now fully fledged stock managers. Thanks to the management by exception principles of Slim4, they have more time to focus on items that require extra attention. Furthermore, the team can proactively communicate with suppliers to make more efficient arrangements.”

Vomar Voordeelmarkt is affiliated with purchasing organisation Superunie, who also rely on the inventory management software, Slim4. Now that both organisations are utilising Slim4, they have better control over the inventory. Other Superunie members include Spar, Sligro and Jan Linders who also work with the software. Kors concludes: “It is ultimately the customer who benefits from all of these efficiency improvements.”